Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free           Like a worm on a hook, like a knight from some old-fashioned book I have saved all my ribbons for thee           If I, if I have been unkind I hope that you can just let it go by If I, if I have been untrue, I hope you know it was never to you. Like a baby stillborn, like a beast with his horn I have torn everyone who reached out for me. But I swear by this song and by all that I have done wrong I will make it all up to thee. I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch He said to me, "You must not ask for so much." And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door, She cried to me, "Hey, why not ask for more ?" Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free